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(without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.
1899 Excerpt: ...they contemplate Him with affectionate love. Only
Judas, who occupies a position in the foreground, turns his head
away, and thinks of the realisation of his sinister design. By an
ingenious contrast the beautiful face of St. John, the beloved
disciple, affectionately leaning on Christ's shoulder, is close to
the disturbed countenance of the traitor who is about to deliver
Jesus to His enemies. The flickering torches which light the
apartment enabled Rubens to place insignificant details in shadow,
and to bring the more important parts of the picture into relief;
he thus preserved the appearance of mystery proper to the subject,
in the general aspect of the composition. 1 The sketch is in the
Hermitage. Two small predelle: the Entry into Jerusalem, and the
Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet, which originally formed part of
the Last Supper, are now in the Dijon Museum. The arrangement of a
St. Theresa interceding for the Souls in Purgatory is less happy.
It was painted at this period for the Church of the Barefooted
Carmelites at Antwerp, which also owned the Education of the
Virgin. Both are now in the Antwerp Museum. St. Theresa kneels
before Christ, who stands in front of her, and implores His mercy
for the four sinners who are undergoing the punishment of
purgatory. Mary Magdalene is one of the sufferers; fair and plump,
she stretches an arm towards an angel, imploring that her penance
may be shortened. She does not deserve much pity, for, despite her
tearful eyes, her opulent beauty has in no way suffered from the
flames to which it is exposed. We scarcely recognise in her
neighbour, as many critics have done, a likeness to Van Dyck. But
we entirely agree with M. Max Rooses that Rubens is in this picture
greatly indebted to the assistance of one of his ...